Pre-Investment Alignment: Drafting Agreements That Anticipate Change by Integrating Government, Community and Investor Interests
Presented during PDAC 2026 at the ITA Conference on International Arbitration in Mining
This panel explored best practices for investors in development projects to structure agreements that anticipate social, environmental, and political risks. Discussion focused on how proponents can identify and map these risks and embed adaptive risk‑management and mitigation mechanisms into foundational project documents as development progresses. The panel examined investor‑state agreements, including treaty considerations, as well as key commercial arrangements such as offtake and streaming agreements. It also addressed the importance of building and maintaining relationships with governments and communities as part of pre‑investment alignment, including considerations around FPIC and community benefit mechanisms.
Moderator:
Kiera Gans, DLA Piper, New York, New York, USA
Panelists:
• Xavier Andrade Cadena, AVL Abogados, Quito, Ecuador
• Jonathan Dickman, DPM Metals, London, United Kingdom
• Vasuda Sinha, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Toronto, Canada
• Veronica Valdez, Anglo American, Peru
